May. 18, 2011 - Issue #813: Choose your own adventure
Veni, Vidi, Vino
Drink pink
Rosé is not the dirty word it once was
Spring is here, summer's around the corner: it's barbeque season. Gone are the long, dark winter evenings spent sipping your favourite red by the fireplace. Instead, bring on those long days on the patio, warm evenings around the campfire, and a cool, crisp glass of rosé.Rosé? That's right. Blush. White Zinfandel—all those "dirty words" that conjure up memories of budget blushes and college hangovers.
But you can forget about those easy-drinking sweet sirens; there's another side to rosés that anyone can drink and not feel embarrassed about. Dry rosés, perfected predominantly in France, are as refreshing as white wines for a hot day on the patio, yet have the character and depth—thanks to being made from red grapes like Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Shiraz—to pair well with everything from light aperitifs and salads to barbequed meats, from grilled fish to hamburgers.
Rosés can be made from almost any red wine grape, because the juice from most grapes—red or white—is white. The colour of rosé (and red wine) comes from contact with the red grape skins during fermentation. Rosés enjoy a short period of contact with the skins, which enhances the complexity of the tannins and finish to make it a much more versatile wine for pairing with food.
Because it's technically from a red wine grape, you'll find all the flavour structure common to Shiraz, Pinot or Zinfandel. Yet, because it's characteristically drier and served chilled, you can enjoy its zesty, refreshing dryness to cool off or accompany light fare like cheeses, chicken and fish, salads and grilled vegetables. It's also a fun "starter wine," a sunset sipper, or can be found in sparkling form which can be just as fun.
When looking for it, you'll likely find it in a section of its own, or else categorized under its region. As mentioned above, France makes excellent dry rosés, though you can find them pretty much everywhere, including budget-friendly regions like Spain, Chile and Australia.
So no more need to look like a sissy drinking the pink plonk. And with Father's Day a few weeks' away, time to start planning that post-golf barbeque beverage:
perhaps dry rosé? V
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